Automatic railway-train stop



F. G. HIGGINS AND R. L. MILLER. AUTOMATIC RAILWAY TRAIN STOP.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1919.

1,363,594; Patented Bea 28,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

yl ll l/ v a INVENTORS Frank 63H \sgms BY Reuben L. mil \er ATTORNEY F. a. HIGGINS AND R. L. MILLER.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY TRAIN STOP.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. I919;

1,363,594j, Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l3 v /6 I3 l3 TNVENTORS Frank G. Hls ms and Roberi 1... ml \er 20 I BY ATT RNEY AZllllllll llllllllllll vs a 1 4 F. G. HIGGINSAND R. L. MILLER. AUTOMATIC RAILWAY TRAIN STOP. APPLICATION man MAY 20. 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- INVENTORS Frank tHlggms and BY Roberk Lhmdler ATTO EY Patented Dec. 28,1920.

AUTGMATZG RAliLVJ.1Y-TRAHF STOP.

') m9 -Q7L1L v. Specification of LettersP-atcnt.

llatented mec. 28, 1920.

Application filed Illay 2Q, 1919. Serial No. 298,552.

5 0 all whom it may concern lie it known that wai er-inn G. llioeINs and llosi-iur ll. Mitten, joint inventors, and citizens oi the United cltates oi America, residing at Spokane, in the county of Spoltane'and State of llashington, have invented new and-useful Improvements in Automatic llai' my lrain Stops, ot whichthe following is a specification.

This invention pertains to automatic controlled railway stopping systems and has .i'or its object to provide an improved nieohanisin to tie into and co-act with the standard railway block signal system in use upon railroads throughout the United States of America, on the one hand, a d with the standard air-brake system in use on railwa' trains throughout the United States of America, whereby under certain conditions to be pro-determined, train upon the; track may be automatically brought to a dead stop. Among the purposes to be accomplished is to prevent collisions between trains moving upon the same track.

The general plan of construction whereby the purposes are accomplished is to release air from the air brake train line of the;

train by means oi operating a valve forming a part of said train line, by the co-action of a rod connected with the valve and carrying. a shoe adapted to come in contact with a ramp rail substantially paralleling the railway, the ramp rail being. so regulated that an operative contact with the shoe is formed only under such conditions as make the stopping of the train desirable.

A specialobject oi the invention is to provice for a construction whereby any brealiage on the part of the mechanism carried by the train will cause an immediat stopping of the train through the release of air from the train line without necessitating the co-action oi? the shoe and the ramp rail. .Vhile the means for accomplishing the above are shown as applied to the mechanism described in this specification, it will be understood that the principle thereof may be applied to any train stopping mechanism.

Other special objects of the invention are to provide means for meeting certain contingencies that may arise in such a manner that in case of irregularity in the elevation of the ramp rail such as the accumulation of ice or snow thereon, will not interfere with the desired operation and will not in any way break, warp or otherwise destroy the n I so'ccnstruct the mechanism in connection with the air brake system of the engine and train that the same will not interfere with the regular and normal operation of the air brak system in thenormal operation of the brake system in the handling of the train. (Ether objects and purposes willbe usc loscd by the details of construction herelnarter disclosed and by the accoinpanyin drawings in which, b

l igure 1, is a sine view in elevation of our device, together with a brokenaway view or a locomotive, railway and railway block system, a portion thereof being shown diaglllllli'llfltlfifllhh l1 2, IS an enlarged broken-away sectional view oi a pipe containing a valve and connection mechanlsm used in construc tion shown in section and showing the valve.

in a certain position. i 3, is a like view showing the valve in another position.

Fig. l, is an enlarged vertical sectional view 01%? the main valve used in the construction and broken-away views showing the connections and operating features joined thereto and showing the core of -the valve andconnected parts in normal position.

Fig. 5, is a like View but showing the valve core and connecting parts inoperative position to set the brakes Fig. 6, is an enlarged, broken-away, vertical sectional view of 4, showing some of the parts in a changed position.

F '7, is a broken-away sectional view talren on the line 7? otliig; 6, and,

Fig. 8, is an enlarged broken-away sectional view of the ramp engaging finger and shoe.

in a detail description in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, the locomotive frame 10 is shown mounted. upon wheels 11, which in turn ride upon the rails 12. The air brake train line is indicated at 18 and. is shown as connected in the usual way, with the engineer's valve 14:. Qur main operative valve 15 is mounted as shown in Fig. l, the air brake train line l -being connected'therewith at 16 and 17. ll ithin the casing 15 o1 the valve 15 is slidably mounted a core 18, into which is threaded, as at 19, a hollow nanisnl or operation of parts, and to ports bearings 23 and 2st. On the frame is mounted a bearing 25. The finger is slidably mounted in the bearings 23,2 1 and i and extends downwardly a suflicient distance to bring the shoe 21 at an elevation substantially horizontal with the rail 12. The sidewise mounting of the shoe 21 is such as to bring the same in vertical alinement with the ramp rail 26 conventionally shown in connection with the diagrammatically illustrated portionsof a railway block system consisting of wires 27 battery 28, circuit breaker 29, signal tower 305 etc., the detail parts'of which it is not deemed essential to enumerate here.

Referring now to the detail construction of the main valve 15; the same is provided with horizontal ports 31, 32 and 33, and with vertical ports34t, s5, 36, e7, 38, s9, 40 and 4.1. The port 35 connects with the opening 41 in the finger 20. The opening 41 in the finger 20 connects with the opening 12 in the shoe 21. The port 34 con- Inects with the port 31 and the port 31 with the port 35. A check valve 43 is mounted in the top of the port 35. The port 36 connects with the port The port 38 connects with the port 32 and with the port 33 and the port 33 with the port 37; A piston 44 is mounted in the port 39 and a piston 45 inthe port 40, the two pistons being connected by a stem46, the lower one having a larger area than the upper one. The stem 46 at a point above the piston 45 isv provided with an opening 17 therethrough. A suitable air tight packing ring 48 engages the finger 20 at its connection with the casing 15 of the valve 15 and is supported by a nut 49. Mounted horizontally across the casing 15 near the top thereof is a wall 50 having openings 51 therethrough. The upper and outer wall 15 of the casing 15 has openings 52 therethrough corresponding with the openings 51 through the wall 50. Threaded into the core 18 as at 53 is a stem 54 slidably mounted through openings 55 and 56 in the walls 50 and 15 respectively. At the upper end of the stem 54 is mounted a dog, 57 having a beveled surface 58. Mounted between the walls 50 and 15 and bearing against the same are coil springs 59. The wall 50 is vertically slidable on the surfaces 60 as far down as the shoulders 61 whichserve as a base support for the same. The train line 13 normally connects with the port 32. An auxiliary. pipe 62 joined to the casing 15 at 63 normally connects with the port 33 and is provided with a check valve 64. A pipe 65 secured to the casing 15 at 66 normally connects with the port 31, and is provided with a valve 67 nor mally held closed by a gravity pawl 68. A pipe 68 secured to the casing l5 at 69 is normally blocked by the core 18 and'is provided with a valve 70 normally held in the position shown in Fig. 2 by a gravity pawl 71. The pipes 13 and 62 connect with a pipe 72 leading to the valve 14;. The pipes 65 and 68 connect with the pipe 13. A pipe 73 connected with the valve 1% leads to a sourceof air supply. Mounted on the engine frame 10 at a position adjacent and above the valve15 -is a casing 74: within which is mounted a core 75 having a cavity 76 and a shoulder 77. A coil spring '78 encircles the core 75 between the shoulder 77 and a nut 7 9 threaded into the casing 7 1. A coil spring 80 occupies the cavity 76.- A pin 81 having a beveled surface 82 extends outwardly from the casing 74; with the beveled surface 82 spaced a short distance above the beveled surface 58 of the dog 57 and is pro vided with a supporting head 83 within the cavity 7 6. and which bears against the coil spring 80.

Pivoted to the core 75 is a lever 8% which is fulcrumed at 85. Fulcrumed on the engine frame 10 as at 86 is a lever 87 to the end'88 of which is secured one end of a rod 89,' the other end of such rod being secured to the pawl 71. 1

In the practical operation of the device, the respective parts are normally in the posi tions shown in Fi s. 1 and 1, excepting that the ramp rail 26 is shown in the danger position in Fig. 1. With the engine running in the direction of the arrow, the beveled surface 26 of the ramp rail 26 on contact with the shoe 21 forces the finger 20 upwardly, which changes the position of the core 18 in the valve 15 to the position shown in Fig. 5, which closes the port 32 to the train line 13 which is the source of air supply. This, together with the changes in ports in the valve 15 and which opens the pipe 90 to the port 36, causes the air from the train line 13 to exhaust through the pipe 90 and a graduating valve 91 at the end thereof, thereby setting the brakes on the train.

The engineer may aid but not interfere with the exhaust'from the train line 13, in case it is desirable to stop a train more quickly by manually opening the valve 14*. and allowing air to exhaust from the port 33 through the pipe 62, valve 6 1 and exhaust pipe 92. In the change of the position of the core 18 in the valve 15 from the position shown in Fig. lto that shown in Fig. 5. air from the space 93 above the core 18 will exhaust through the openings 51 and 52. When it is desired to reset the mechanism to normal position the same is done by manual operation of the levers 84 and 87 which is done by the engineer in one movement. by drawing the said levers toward each other, thereby exhausting the air from the space 9 beneath the core 18 in the valve by changing the position of the three way valve YO inthe pipe 68 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3, and releasing the dog from its locked position on the pin 81 and permit ting the core 18 to drop by gravity to the position shown in Fig. i, the air in the space 94y cushioning the drop ofthe'core 18. in case there should be accumulations of ice, snow or other matte upon the ramp rail 26, thereby elevating the shoe 21 more than normally, the core 18 in the valve 15 would force upwardly the plate 50 thereby compressing the coil springs 59 and in such case the coil springs will assist in the returning oi the core 18 to the normal position. ll e reserve the right, also, to remove the plate 50 and have the coil springs 59 extended to contact directly with the upper surface of the core 18 to serve as an aid in all cases in the return of the core 18 to normal position.

In case that the finger 20 or the shoe 21 should break by accident or otherwise, the air from the ports and 4-1 exhausts through the openings 4:1 and a2 and the pistons id and drop downwardly by gravity and the pressure of air trom'the port upon the piston ellto the positions shown in Figs. 6 and '7 whereby the ga e as closes the port 32, and the air from the train line 13 graduates through the check valve 43 and out through the open finger, thereby setting the brakes on the train.

When the brake has been closed and it is desired to return the pistons 4A and 4-5 to normal position, the engineer by manual operation opens the valve 67 in the pipe by turning upwardly the gravity pawl 68 which permits air from the train line 13 to pass through the ports 34- and ll to the port 4L0 thereby forcing upwardly the piston 45 to which piston all: is connected by tee stem 4-6, thereby opening again the port 32.

by-pass 39 leads to the open from port 39 to prevent the cushioning of air beneath the piston li and in order to break the vacuum in the return oi the piston.

In the normal operation of the air brake system and the exhausting of air through the port 32, the check valve 43 serves to prevent the air in the ports 35, 41 and 41 front exhausting, whereby the normal pressure is maintained therein to support the valves and to in an elevated position.

W hat is claimed is 1. In an automatic train stop, the combination of an air-brake train line and an operating valve on a locomotive, with an additional valve mounted in said train line, a port in said additional valve through which the air to normally operate the train brake system passes, a hollow finger connected with said additional valve, slidably mounted, and extending downwardly to a point near the bottom of the wheels or the locomotive, a hollow shoe with the opening therein connected with the opening in the finger, at the bottom of the linger, port in said additional; valve connected with the opening in said-finger and with the port through said additional valve connected with the airbralre train line,'whcreby a break into the opening in said linger or shoe releases the air in the train line through said break.

2. In an automatic train stop, the combination of an air-brake train line and an operating valve on a locomotive, with an aodi tional valve mounted in said train line, a port through said ditional. valve for. the air to pass througl'i to normally operate the train brake system, an exhaust from said additional valve and a port operatively connected therewith. and with the port for the normalpassage of the air, a slidable core in said additional valve, a finger connected therewith and extending downwardly to a point near the bottom of the wheels or the locomotive, a shoe at the bottom of the finger whereby an upward thrust of the shoe and linger slidably operates said core to connect the port therein with the normal air passage and the exhaust port to release the air to the open.

3. In an automatic train stop, the combination of an air-brake train line and an operating valve on a locomotive, with an additional valve mounted in said train line, a port in said additional valve through which the air to normally operate the train brake system passes, a hollow finger con nected with said additional valve, slidably mounted, and extending downwardly to a pomt near the bottom of the wheels of the locomotive, a hollow shoe with the opening therein connected with the opening in the ii ger, at the bottom of the finger, a port in said additional valve connected with the opening in said finger and with the port through said additional valve connected with the air-brake train line, wherebyv a break into the opening in said finger or shoe releases the air in the train line through said break, a slidable gate, pistons attached thereto normally holding said gate free of the port in said valve by means of air presure and which pressure is released by means of a break into the opening in the finger or shoe to drop said gate across and to close said port as against air from the train line supply.

In an automatic train stop, the combination of an airbrake train line and an oper-iting valve on a locomotive "with an additional valve mounted in said train line,

through which additional valve the air to tional valve, slidably mountedvand extend ing downwardly to a point near the bottom of the wheels of the locomotive, a shoe at the bottom of the finger and means whereby the contact of said shoe with an obstruction in itspath will slidably operate said finger and operate said additional valve and release the air in the trainline, and manually operative means including an added connecf tion between the operating valve on the train line and the additional valve and an exhaustthrough the train line valve whereby the air release through said additional valve nected with the opening in the finger, at the bottom of the finger, a port in said additional valve connected with the opening in said finger and with the port through said additional valve connected with the air brake train line, whereby a break into the opening in said finger or shoe releases the air in the train line through said break, a slidable gate, pistons attached thereto normally holding said gate free of the port in said valve by means of air pressure and which pressure is released by means of a break into the opening in the finger or shoe to drop said gate across and to close said port as against air "from the train line supply, and manually operative means whereby said gate may be returned to nor mal position.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signa-- tures in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK G. HIGGINS. ROBERT L. MILLER. lVitnesses:

L. L. WEsTFALL, J. E. MCANDREW. 

